A/HRC/47/38 discriminatory and timely access to maternal health care,77 mistreatment during childbirth78 and access to contraceptive information and services.79 40. The Working Group denounces in the strongest terms the prosecution and criminalization of women and girls accused of having abortions, including in situations of miscarriages and stillbirths. The Working Group condemns reporting requirements that contribute to a “hospital to prison pipeline” for women who have had or who are suspected of having abortions and the criminalization of involvement in the performance of abortions, which affects health-care workers, including midwives, especially in times of crisis when institutional health services are not readily available.80 5. Lack of support for feminist and women’s rights organizations and violence against human rights defenders working in the area of sexual and reproductive health rights 41. Feminist and women’s rights organizations working at the community level play a vital role in ensuring the sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls, especially during a crisis. Many are directly involved in the provision of sexual and reproductive health services and information, stepping in where public goods and services are no longer unavailable. 81 States are required under international law to ensure that such groups are supported in discharging their role and involved in the planning, implementation and monitoring of crisis responses.82 The Working Group notes however that their expertise and knowledge is often not taken into consideration. 83 Feminist leaders and organizations working on the front lines are not systematically included in decision-making processes. In addition, a recent assessment has revealed that, in situations of crisis, funding for women’s rights is among the first things to be reduced.84 42. The Working Group is deeply concerned that women human rights defenders are targeted for violence and subjected to intimidation and retaliation because of their efforts to ensure women’s sexual and reproductive health rights and for their demanding accountability for pervasive sexual violence and feminicides.85 6. Exclusion of women and girls from decision-making 43. Without autonomy and control over their reproductive functions and roles, women and girls continue to be subjugated in every sphere of life and are unable to realize their full potential. They are effectively denied the ability to participate in public life and to provide leadership. Legal restrictions on women’s and girls’ autonomy and their exclusion from decision-making processes are compounded by the tendency during a crisis to promote a certain image of women as mothers only and to essentialize their role through the use of harmful and discriminatory stereotypes, which leads to the further exclusion of their concerns and perspectives from the public policy discourse.86 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 12 See Da Silva Pimentel v. Brazil; and S.F.M. v. Spain (CEDAW/C/75/D/138/2018). See CEDAW/C/IRL/CO/6-7. See CEDAW/C/OP.8/PHL/1. See https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunication File?gId=25385; https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunication File?gId=25560; www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/tramite/manuela_y_otros.pdf; A/66/254; and A/HRC/41/33. See submission by Maat for Peace Development and Human Rights – Somalia and Ipas Pakistan. See also Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 24 (1999). CARE, “Time for a better bargain”; African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, “Study on transitional justice and human and peoples’ rights in Africa”, 2019; and submission by Pathways for Women’s Empowerment and Development. Ibid. See https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunication File?gId=25833; https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunication File?gId=25447; https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunication File?gId=25372; and A/HRC/41/33. Views expressed during the regional consultations; and submission by Latsi Nu Women Agency.